Time is too short
by vampout
Summary: Jayne discovers what's worth living for Rayne One shot Owned by Joss the master, not me!


Jayne heard playful giggling coming from the kitchen. He could make out girlie's laugh from anywhere, but what really made his stomach churn was the males laughter. It wasn't her brothers proper core breed laugh or Wash's uncontrollable chuckle that drove him up the wall. No, it wasn't Mal's laid back war tellin' or what not laugh either.

He stormed up the steps carrying his guns and knives into the dining hall and stopped dead in his tracks, a snarl spreading across his lips.

"How many times girlie do I have to tell ya, no more cookin' I ain't eating that go se you call food." He grumbled, making his way into the kitchen.

A soft smile played across River's lips as she turned to him. "I'm not cooking Jayne, I'm simply helping the late Chef from Osiris prepare tonight's meal."

"I ain't eating anything that man there has prepared. It don't smell right."

"That man…" River said, her smile fading quickly. "Has a name Jayne. And if you want to miss out on the stir fry made from fresh vegetables and beef Brandon is preparing, than so be it." She said shrugging, turning her attention back to the task at hand.

Jayne stood in silence. He hadn't been told abou tno cook. hell he hadn't been told about a new passenger. It didn't really matter at this moment though cause stir Fry did sound mighty fine. He hadn't had actual food in near to three months now, just protein mash in all the colours of the rainbow. He grumbled something underneath his breath and stormed back over towards the kitchen table, throwing down his guns and miscellaneous items for cleaning. He wanted to make sure the cook saw just how dangerous he was and how far he'd go to fight for something he wanted.

"Alright can you boil the rice now River?" Brandon asked politely. River murmured something Jayne couldn't hear and they both broke out into a fit of laughter. Brandon clutched his waist and gently placed a hand on Rivers shoulder as if to steady himself. Whatever the joke was Jayne was sure it wasn't that funny that Brandon needed to touch her shoulder.

He squirmed silently in his seat and tried to look away from the sight, but something in the pit of his stomach told him not to. They were too close for comfort in Jaynes opinion, he was about to get up and show the man whose boss when the real one walked in.

"Mmm … what smells so good? River have you been using Inara's shampoo again?" he asked, a broad smile lighting up his war torn features. Jayne screwed his face up in disgust. It was one thing getting the companion all to himself, but it was another braggin' about it. They all knew that their relationship had been taken to the next level after the operative, but surely he could keep it to his lonesome.

"Capt'n daddy had confused edible food with shampoo, deprived too long I'm afraid." River said grinning like the crazy person she was.

Brandon smiled up at the captain at the mention of food. "Nearly all done sir, we may even have leftovers."

"Hey I'm not complaining." Mal said, taking a seat on the opposite end of the table from Jayne. " You think you can remove those weapons from this here dining table. Dinners about to be served."

Jayne grumbled underneath his breath something along the lines of . "No gorram place to clean, gettin' to crowded if you ask me."

"Mind your tongue, there's ladies present." snapped Mal.

"Ladies?" asked Jayne, thinking that, Mal had just called their new passenger a girl, made him grin slightly. It was short lived however when as soon as he said it, in entered Inara, smiling all companion like. Huffing, he grabbed his guns up in a bundle and stormed off towards his bunk.

"Mal." Inara said in loving recognition.

"Inara." Mal replayed in the same tone. She sat down next to him and shifted her gaze from Mal to Rivers.

"That smells wonderful Brandon, did River help you?" she asked, admiring Rivers new found sanity.

"Yes, she been quite the assistant. She learns quickly."

"Yes, lil albatross is defiantly gifted." Said Mal, all father like. Ever since she had started to call him by 'captain daddy." He couldn't help but look at her in a protective, fathering way.

River grinned widely at him as she placed a large pot of steaming rice on the table and took a seat next to the vacant seat which was Jayne's.

It didn't remain vacant for long however, only just after Brandon placed the large pot of stir fry and sat across from River, did Jayne reappear. Followed eagerly by Zoe, Kaylee, Wash and Simon weren't far behind him, the fresh smell that whiffed down the corridors almost begged them to follow it.

A few extra chairs appeared out of nowhere and they all began to squish into their dinner table, grunting and now and again cursing about the lack of space. Mainly from Jayne, who knew he was actually enjoying River this close to him, but he couldn't let that slip.

"Well I must say Osiris must be missing you right now." Said Wash through mouthfuls of food.

"Yes Brandon this food is delectable." Said Inara in a very companion like way, causing Brandon to blush slightly and Mal wrap an overly protective arm round Inara's chair.

"Thanks." He said politely, turning his gaze away until it fell on Rivers, who smiled brightly at the sudden attention.

"So how long had you been on Osiris?" asked River eagerly, wanting to get a conversation started.

"Ever since I was born, lived there all my life, this is my first time out in space actually."

Everyone looked up from their food and stared at him wide eyed.

"Really?" River spoke in shock.

He nodded, blushing once again as all the faces still held his gaze. "Yes…?"

"So what made you come out here then?" she asked, keeping the conversation rolling, suddenly intrigued.

"The pays better on Greenleaf, thought I would get out while I still had the chance I suppose." He said taking another mouth full of food. "What about you, what made you come out here into the black?" he asked curiously, looking pointedly at River. Nearly the whole crew of Serenity stiffened, Jayne reached for his gun he had strapped on his hip, which surprised River some. She quickly looked around the room, all the crew diverting their gazes to her. She was suddenly at a loss for words, the crews gazes quickly turned to surprise, unable to comprehend why the genius could think of a quick white lie.

However what surprised the entire crew further was when Jayne spoke in her stead. "She wanted to see the black just like you… now she's made herself a fanciable pilot, haven't ya girlie?" he said nudging her in the side.

"Yes." She said almost instantly, nodding her head in the agreement. The entire crew seemed to sigh in relief as Brandon nodded, accepting the lie for a truth.

"It's amazing that a young women such as yourself could come to pilot a ship." He said, looking her square in the eyes.

"You'll find all my crews gifted in some way or form." Mal said, trying to divert Brandon's question away from River. "Kaylee here has a feel for Serenity, can take her apart and put her back together again in a blink of an eye, real talent." He said nodding his head at Kaylee, who beamed profusely at the praise. "Inara has a way of reading people, ever since she retired from being a companion you'll notice she is gifted in many area's like music and art." Mal continued his speech until he gave each and everyone of his crew praise and attention.

Brandon was silent for a moment, looking around the crew in confusion until Jayne made a comment. "And Mal, well he is the ring leader of the group, has the gift of all his plans going according to plan." He received several chuckles with that comment, all knowing that what Mal planned and what happens were two completely different things.

River stood than, she had just had a vision and it wasn't particularly good so she began to gather the dishes. Zoe stood also helping her out seeing the distant look in her eyes. Once they were over by the sink she began to whisper to her. "Did you see something honey?"

River nodded. "There's going to be a fight."

Zoe turned her head slightly so she could hear better. "Between who?"

"He's going to turn me in."

"Who Jayne?" she asked in disbelief. She knew about the last incident on Ariel, but thought he had gotten past that, may have even started to bond with River now that they were out on the field together working as partners.

She shook her head. "No, Brandon. There's going to be a fight, guns will be fired, Jayne will fall."

Zoe stood upright all of a sudden. It was true she never got along all that well with the hired muscle, but he was still part of the crew, a part of the family. After the operative he had changed, softened a little. He was even able to help Zoe out now and again with out complaining which shocked her some.

"What can we do?" she asked, whispering again to River, glancing back over at the table now and again at Mal, who was she could tell paying attention to the two at the sink, whilst trying to carry on a harmless conversation at the table.

She shrugged. "Talk to Mal…" River replied, glancing over at the Merc who immediately caught her eyes. They had learnt to fight together and to tolerate each other, maybe even a friendship had formed over the last six months. They could sense when the other knew danger was coming, when they were keeping something from the other. Two trained weapons, each as deadly as each other.

He continued to stare at River, knowing full well that something was amiss. He glared a Brandon for a moment and than back at her and she simply nodded. His hand moved for his holster than but she slowly shook her head and his hand lowered to rest on his thigh.

"Well I think I'll retire for the day." Brandon said, standing up politely, thanking everyone for their company for the evening. He turned around than and faced River. "Thank you for being my assistant." He said bowing slightly, and she forcibly plastered a smile on her face and curtseyed. Not long after did the rest of the crew excuse themselves, all except for Zoe, River , Mal and Jayne that is.

Once they were all alone Mal took charge. "What the gorram hell is going on River?" he said getting up from the chair and walking over towards the kitchen. River eyed Mal carefully and than diverted her gaze to Jayne who was looking directly at her from the table still.

"Brandon's going to turn me in." Jayne immediately stood, anger clearly written across his features.

Mal noticed his reaction and raised an eyebrow at the Merc's reaction. "Who is he really? When's he going to do it and how?" Mal asked, looking back at River.

She shook her head. "I don't know, how, when or who." She said, leaning up against the counter.

Zoe placed a hand on the young women's shoulder. "We should check him out sir, search his things, find out who he really is and get a clear picture of what were up against.'

Mal nodded and turned back to his hired gun, who was still staring at River, having their own private conversation with only facial expression. "I need you and River to distract Brandon, whilst I go and check him out."

"When?" he asked speaking for the first time.

"Tomorrow, it's too late to night. All of you keep on your guard, I want Jayne to stay in the cargo bay tonight, make sure he doesn't come out of his room and do anything out of the ordinary."

"And if he does?" Jayne asked.

"Shoot him."

Jayne nodded, liking this plan more and more.

"I'll take over your shift in the early hours of the morning, make sure you get good enough rest for tomorrow." Mal said, turning to take his leave, but stopped just as he was about to walk out the door. "I don't want to lose anyone Dong Ma?." he said, his eyes turning dark again, kicking into war mode. He left the room, wishing that they had more time for peace, the last couple of months since the operative were special, calming. They had all bonded extremely well, into a family Mal swore to protect until his dying breath.

--

Jayne sat on one of the crates in the cargo bay, eyeing Brandon's passenger dorm with interest. The lights had gone out only several minutes ago and he presumed he was now fast asleep. He leant back against the wall, tilting his head back slightly so it rested on the cool metal and closed his eyes. 'Only for a moment' he thought.

"Jayne?"

He immediately sat forward his eyes alert and gun cocked ready. He was about to fire at the moving object in front of him until he realized it was River.

"Gorram it I could have shot ya." He hissed, trying not to be too loud. She simply grinned and jumped up to the crate next to him with ease. "Aren't you supposed to be getting your beauty sleep or something?" he asked.

She smiled again. "I can see you were."

"Only for a minute." he said defensively.

She nodded. "I've come to keep you company, because I couldn't sleep and you can."

Jayne smirked, he was glad he'd have company, and River was the ideal companion. It wasn't right that everyone was out to get her, that her parents were so screwed up to let her go to a place were they messed with peoples minds. He clenched his fists, he didn't know why he felt like this when he thought about it, but it got to him in a way he couldn't describe. After the Operative things had changed between them. He had learned to respect her not for just her abilities but for who she really was, for how sane she had become after the horrible experiences at the Academy.

"What did you do before you became a mercenary?" asked River, knocking him out of his thoughts.

Jayne had to think for a moment, he had suppressed so much of his life, he had to dig deep to regain his memories. "I was a cattle herder, helped out on my pa's farm. When he passed, I couldn't handle it on my own. Never really fitted in at home any way, so I had to get out and send money from elsewhere." He laughed than. "Ma thinks I'm earning a honest living. But there just ain't a place out there for people like us." He said, suddenly realizing what he said and mentally kicked himself. "I mean…"

"You're right, we are both outlaws Jayne, both outcasts. We could never survive in today's society. That's' why we're here. We are on a ship full misfits each with our own flaws and gifts. We have found somewhere we belong, a family to rely on." She said looking off into the direction of the passenger dorms.

Jayne creased his forehead. "I don't know how you can rely on us, especially me after I tried to turn you in and all."

"You've proved yourself, a hundred times over. My faith in you will not be shattered by one mere incident when you only just knew me, before I was sane." She said with a chuckle.

Jayne grinned at her comment, he couldn't believe how she could joke about something so terrifying. He admired her for her knew found saneness. "You know, Brandon is no match for you and me, there isn't a power in the verse that could take you away from me… I mean your family." He said quick to correct himself.

River smiled and turned to look in his eyes, hearing his slip up. "Thank you Jayne."

"For what?" he asked his eyes not wavering from hers, his cheeks turning red from his mishap.

"Being the one that always makes me feel safe." She said, slipping her hand into his and leaning her head against her shoulder.

Jayne was taken by surprise, he hadn't expected that. Sure he always wished that River may have feelings for him, like he had for her, but he had never really thought it would come true. So now he was at a loss, unsure of what to do except squeeze her hand and reply lamely. "Your welcome."

---

Mal walked down the cargo bay stairs, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to stay awake, the morning was young, too young if you asked him. He came down the last flight and stopped dead in his tracks. There was his trained muscle and albatross sitting on a crate, both of their heads lent up against the wall, eyes closed. It wasn't just that they were asleep (and looked like they had been for a very long time.) that made him past furious, but Jayne had wrapped a arm around Rivers waist and her fingers were interlocked with his. He glared at them both, daring them to wake up and face his wrath when a soft hand was gently placed on his shoulder. He automatically knew who it was. Inara.

"Aren't they cute together?"

"Cute?" Mal almost screamed. Hell they weren't cute, they were sleeping on the job, possibly condemning the whole crew to their death whilst they were… sleeping! He was on the verge of boiling over when Inara came in front of him, a soft smile on her features.

"Leave them be Mal, your late anyway."

So what if he was late, he was the captain, he could get away with it. Mal looked into Ianra's eyes as she silently pleaded for the lives of her crew members. How could he resist. "Fine." He said. "But I'm still going to wake them up, no use them two sleeping out here when they could be in their **separate **bunks." He said walking towards the two sleeping forms.

Jayne was in a perfect dream when something painful slapped him on the arm. He awoke with a start, sending River to jump at least two feet in the air. Her eyes were wide and she was looking around for possible danger…and than she found it. Mal was standing in front of them, a look of fury on his face.

"We weren't asleep for more than a second." Jayne mindlessly pleaded.

Mal continued to glare. "You two are lucky that you have friends on this boat that convinced me otherwise against throwing you both out the airlock. Now get to your bunks before I change my mind."

They sat there for a moment wide-eyed until they realized what he said and scrambled to their respected bunks. Jayne to his bunk and River to Kaylee's. It was odd really having Kaylee's old bunk now that Simon and her had moved in together in one of the passenger rooms. It was so full of bright colors that River couldn't resist saying no when she asked. Both her and Jayne looked at each other for a split second before climbing down their ladders.

"I can't wait to tell her brother." Mal murmured with enthusiasm.

"You'll do no such thing." Inara said from behind him. "She will tell him when she's ready, and until then no comment." She said, glaring into his eyes.

"Now wait just a minute. This is my boat…"

"And it's their lives." Inara finished, leaving no room for argument. Mal nodded, giving in. He had changed since he'd been with Inara, he was more open to suggestion than before, let people have their input. People might think he'd grown weak, but all he thought he was, was a gentlemen, letting Inara have her say every now and again. Sure they still had their occasional fights, but Inara had sacrificed her life as a companion, that right there gave her a new respect in his eyes.

The morning came to quickly for River, and she knew almost straight away what her diversion would be. Brandon had taken a special interest to her she noticed, so she could use that to her advantage. But first she had to warn Jayne of her plan. River stretched in her small bed, pulling off the covers reluctantly and moving over to a pile of neatly folded clothes. She looked at them and frowned. Picking up a dark burgundy dress, she unfolded it and smiled. It had been one of Inara's that she no longer wanted so she offered it to River who gratefully accepted. It was truly beautiful and Inara always said she looked stunning in it. She slipped on the dress over her head and grinned to herself, brushing her long brown hair. Than grabbing her toiletries she began to freshen up.

Jayne woke to a loud clank. He shot upright and looked for immediate danger drawing a weapon from underneath his pillow.

"Don't shoot." Came the innocent voice of River Tam. He couldn't see her, but he judged by the voice she was standing on the ladder that led into his bunk.

"What cha doin'?" he asked baffled.

"The diversion is about to take place, I need you to tell Mal. I'll be in the cargo bay."

"Diversion?' Jayne asked, than remembered after a moments thought. "What cha gonna to do?"

He heard her giggle up above him and than leap out of the ladder and closed it firmly behind him. He grunted and began getting dressed, strapping a gun to his side and a knife to his thigh. He ran his fingers through his hair and decided it would do and climbed out of his bunk and ran smack bang in to Mal.

"Girlie said the diversion was about to take place."

Mal raised an eyebrow, "and what is this so called diversion?"

"Don't know, said it was in the cargo bay." He said shrugging trudging down the hall.

Mal rolled his eyes and followed after him.

Loud classical music from the earth that was filled the crew's ears. The soft symphony drawing all of the crew to the cargo bay, where a trance like River Tam began to fall in time with the music.

Simon heard the music and automatically grinned, his mei mei was dancing, he knew even before he made it to the cargo bay. It was an old ballet that Simon recognized, she moved gracefully across the cargo bay, and Simon couldn't contain his proud smile. He was first to arrive and eager to not disturb her, knowing this was a one off opportunity.

Jayne and Mal entered not long after him, Mal looked slightly confused and than something dawned on him and he scurried off in the opposite direction. Jayne however stood motionless, his mouth gaping at River in a dress that clung to all the right places, he'd never seen her look more like a women than right now. She was twirling in graceful movements that shamed the most professional ballerinas. This was a diversion all right, a damn good one at that. Brandon had taken the bait also and he came out of his bunk and sat on the nearest crate to him, watching at River danced across the metal floor. Jayne felt like going down ad choking the little rat for looking at her like he was, but had to remind himself it was a diversion one that would potentially save her life.

He could just make out the small sweat beads on her forehead from where he stood, she has been dancing for a fair while now, and the steps didn't look all that simple to perform. Jayne glanced around the room, Brandon was thoroughly distracted, Simon was standing next to Kaylee on the stairs both beaming down at her, whilst Inara, Wash and Zoë stood in a small group watching in awe. He turned his gaze back to her, the song reaching the end, she leapt through the air in one swift motion and landed doing the splits. He opened his mouth and gaped, she sure was flexible.

Just as the music ended Mal came up beside him and jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. "Get lil' Albatross and Zoë up to the bridge now. Looks like this is worse than I thought." He whispered. Jayne nodded and was just about to walk down the stairs to River when Brandon stood up.

He moved closer to River who was now standing in the middle of the cargo bay, breathing softly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and Rivers eyes went immediately wide. In one swift movement he had River pinned to the floor a gun cocked at her temple. Jayne, Mal, Zoe and even Wash had a gun aimed at Brandon's head in less than a second.

"You better rethink your actions, Peter. It's four against one, the odds don't look so bright." Yelled Mal, glaring death daggers at the man before him.

Peter laughed. "You four are no match for me. You obviously know what I am Malcolm Reynolds, which makes me wonder why you want to get yourself and the crew killed." His said, his eyes never leaving Rivers face.

Jayne watched in fury, his hand on the trigger ready to fire, he wasn't really in the mood for hesitating.

"Don't even think about it Jayne Cobb." Said Peter again, placing a hand around Rivers neck and stood up, bringing her with him so he was looking at her. "She's not worth dying over." He ended giving Rivers neck another tight squeeze. He looked at Mal for a moment about to speak when River took the opportunity to attack. With one quick kick she hit him in the one spot every man hated, his gun dropped out of his hand in surprise and River delivered a punch to his nose, resulting in a resounding _crack_, which made everyone in the room flinch.

Mal didn't waste another moment either, he fired at least a round of bullets at Peter, but he dodged them each time with accuracy. River swung a high kick at Peters head, but Peter blocked it, overcoming the surprise of the first blow. He than tightened his fist and punch her square in the side of her face, and she staggered backwards momentarily, she recovered and it was her turn to inflict another blow.

Mal watched in horror, he couldn't keep up with the scene before his eyes, they moved to quickly, too deadly to comprehend. Peter was just like her, intuitive, dangerous, deadly, a trained weapon.

Jayne strained his eyes and watched closely only just comprehending what was happening. Peter had one of River's arms twisted behind her back and with out hesitation forced her arm upwards with so much force that several gut churning cracks were heard. She fell to the floor for a moment and Zoe, Mal and Wash began to fire. Jayne however was over come with fury, he waited until he was about to kick her in the ribs and fired.

He saw River's head turn towards him. "Jayne." She screamed. Out of no where Peter pulled a second gun and aimed it straight at him. He heard the bullet fire, and watched in terror, waiting for the bullet to pierce his skin, but it never came. Instead River was standing in front of Peter, motionlessly still. Peter too stood the same as she, a look of pure disbelief clouding his features. And than Jayne felt his whole world crumble, everything he ever wanted disappeared, all hope for the future lost. All mindless thoughts no longer ceased to exist. Because at that very moment River Tam, partner, friend and something so much more that Jayne could never admit until now, fell to the floor, blood oozing from a bullet wound in her chest.

He didn't think twice, her aimed his gun at the man who never deserved to live and fired, the bullet piercing him square in between the eyes. The rest of the crew stood in shock, except for Jayne who sprinted down the stairs and skidded to halt just beside River's body, she was still breathing, but barely.

"River?" he whispered, quickly bundling her in his arms. "It's alright darlin' your gonna be alright ya hear." He said, looking down at her pale face. "Doc!" he screamed, and Simon was quickly knocked out of his trance, beginning to bolt down the stairs to his mei mei.

"Infirmary!" Simon yelled back and ran a head of him into the infirmary. The lights flickered on and Jayne gently laid River onto the bed. Simon began running around like a mad man, constantly looking back at his sister and back to the task at hand. Meanwhile Jayne had knelt down next to River, pressing a rough hand over her bloodied chest and another intertwined with her fingers.

"You shouldn't 'ave done that, it should have been me." He whispered. In all his life he never knew he could cry, that he Jayne Cobb could shed a tear about somebody else, that he could care about somebody else as much as he did for River Tam. Simon came up beside him and didn't hesitate on jabbing a needle into River's arm.

With a jerk of Simon's head, Mal and Wash came scrambling in and grabbed Jayne by the arms and began pulling him out. He was to emotionally drained to fight, he simply let him self be dragged out of the infirmary and be placed on a chair.

Kaylee was seated next to him on the couch, her eyes filled with tears, making her oil stained cheeks drip with black drops down her face. Inara had a protective arm around Kaylee, also trying to hold back the tears that dared to overflow.

Wash and Mal were to the side, both looking intently in the Infirmary window, Zoe had only recently joined Simon, to make sure he his mind on the job, not on his sister.

"This doesn't look good Mal, please tell me you saw worse in the war." Said Wash, taking his eyes off River to look at Mal, only once doing so he wished he hadn't.

"People get shot in the chest all the time, but in the heart, that's a different story." He said, his eyes not moving off Rivers motionless form. He paused for a moment before continuing. "But if anyone can pull through this than it River, never seen anyone stronger than my lil' Albatross."

Wash nodded his head, looking at his wife who was cutting open Rivers dress so they could get to the gun shot wound. He couldn't look once Simon got his scalpel and made his way towards her. "I'm going to get that hwoon dun off this ship." Wash cursed, referring to Peter body.

Mal nodded in agreement, "Get going I don't want him here when she wakes up." He said firmly.

"Yes Sir." Said Wash, his voice soft.

Mal gazed back at his Merc who had his head in his hands, doing something Mal never thought was possible. He wouldn't bring it up however, there was no time for it. He glared back at in the window. "Hold on River… for all our sakes."

---

It had been over four hours since Jayne had placed River on the infirmary bed, and now her grief stricken brother and Zoë began to walk out the door towards the crew of Serenity. He gave a slight smile. "Well she's stable for the moment, the bullet pierced her aorta, but I managed to repair it. She has also broken her collar bone and wrist, but I was able to set it."

"Will she live?" asked Mal, his tone deadly serious.

Simon shrugged. "Nothing is certain until she wakes up, I've done all I can for now." He answered, his voice hushed. His eyes were so full of grief that it scared Mal, he'd seen those eyes before, they were his own when he came back from war. He was about to ask the Doc to sit when Jayne began to speak.

"Can I see her?" he said, looking up from his hands.

Simon looked surprised by his requested but nodded anyway. "Yes, though I don't think she will wake up anytime soon."

Jayne stood and nodded once to the Doc before entering the infirmary. River was now on the table, connected up to various wires, she was in a hospital gown also and faint specks of blood leaked through the white material. Her arm was in a sling, her wrist wrapped up tight seeming they didn't have the proper material to set it in plaster. He sat down beside her on a stool, and looked at her face, her left cheek was swollen and bruised and her lip split down the right side.

He took her small hand in his rough callused one and squeezed it tightly. "Why'd you have to go and do that? I could 'ave taken the blow. It should be me in here, not you."

Mal glared in the infirmary. "Please don't tell me my hired gun has gone soft?" he asked, an open question. However no one replied, they were all to busy watching the scene for them in fascination. Moments later Jayne walked out his eyes blazin' at everyone's.

"Shows ova, shouldn't we be doin' something?" he asked, glaring at Wash especially.

Wash's eyes grew wide. "Yes…I believe I should be up in the, helm. Lambie toes, care to join me."

Zoë nodded, looking at Jayne briefly before heading off. "Yes dear, I believe I will."

Kaylee went over to Jayne and gave his arm a squeeze. "It will be just shiny, you wait an see. Ain't no better doctor in the 'verse." She said looking at Simon happily. "Come on she'll be just fine, all fixed up."

Simon couldn't help but smile back at Kaylee's every glowing sunshine. "Why don't you all go have something to eat, I need to check River's fluids, than I'll join you."

They all gathered around the table, looking at their protein as if it was the most interesting thing in the verse. No one had the courage to speak, the empty chair next to Jayne all reminding them that there was one of the family missing. "I suppose I should tell you what I know. Brandon or rather Peter was something similar to River, an experiment from the academy, trained to kill and obey orders. An assassin who when he shot River, realized he had failed. And judging by his reaction to shooting her failing, ain't a good thing."

The crew still remained quiet, each digesting the information they just received. Simon was still staring into his protein, his eyes distant, lost in thought. Kaylee put a reassuring hand on Simons arm. "Well at least it's all over now, he's gone and we have nothing left to worry about. The Alliance aren't on our tail are they captn'?"

Mal shook his head, "No, Wash let loose the cry baby, were all clear. Lil' Kaylee's right, it's all over, and once River wakes, we can continue on our merry way."

A light suddenly caught Mal's eye and he pointed to Simons belt which held the contraption. "What's that?" and every head turned to look at the device.

"That's my connection to the infirmary, it means something changed in River's status." He said abruptly standing, and with out hesitation he sprinted from his chair and out of the room.

River saw the light and reached for it, the brightness calling her to come. She could the distant voice in her head, mostly thoughts, and all about her. She smiled inwardly at them all as she forced herself to open her eyes. They fluttered open slowly and she saw he self surrounded by her family. Simon was to her left staring down at her. "How do you feel mei mei?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern.

She thought about that for a moment, she only felt a miniscule amount of pain, which led her to her next concern. "Hungry, did I miss dinner?" she asked in all honestly, which made every one roar with laughter.

Simon beamed down at her and Mal moved to her side, his eyes shining brightly. "I'm glad your back lil' one."

She smiled up at him and than her eyes drifted to the Merc on the opposite wall, his eyes downcast. "Jayne?" she asked. He looked up at the mention of his name, nodding his head once at her in recognition.

"I think we'll leave them alone." Inara said, piping up. She grabbed Mal's arm and all the men's respected girls follower suit, dragging them out of the infirmary with out protest.

As they did Jayne walked closer and pulled a stool out so he could sit beside River. "You shouldn't have done that you know." He said trying to be as stern as possible with her, it was hard though, the way her soft brown eyes looked up into his. It was mighty hard.

"I saw the outcomes, and this was the best option."

"Maybe for you, but not for me. I woulda taken the bullet gladly had I known."

She shook her head, "It wasn't your decision, it was mine."

"Yeah but if I had known…" he began and River quickly shut him up.

"Jayne?" she said slightly agitated. He stared down at her slightly surprised by the interruption. "Shut up and kiss me." She said firmly, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

His eyes grew wide for a moment than a wide grin spread across his features. "With pleasure" he murmured.


End file.
